Michelle Obama says she wears dresses by young women, immigrants, and African-Americans because she knows it will 'change their lives'

Dia Dipasupil/Getty ImagesFormer first lady Michelle Obama discussing her book ‘Becoming’ with Sarah Jessica Parker at Barclays Center on December 19.

Michelle Obama said she picks her clothing to give a platform to fashion designers from underrepresented backgrounds.

Since the dresses she wears sometimes sell out within minutes, she said she wants to give a platform to designers who could use the attention.

Former first lady and fashion trendsetter Michelle Obama said her clothing choices are a deliberate way to bring attention to young women, immigrants, and African-Americans – rather than simply pick clothing from the same famous designers.

“You learn that there are people in this scene who feel entitled to these things because they have done it for a while, and I hated that feeling,” she said. “There are whole lot of people out here who are trying to make it, there are young women and immigrants and black folk.”

Obama gave her remarks in an interview with Sarah Jessica Parker, as part of the book tour for her memoir “Becoming” Wednesday in Brooklyn, according to Axios.

The dresses Obama wore in public while first lady sometimes sold out within minutes. Obama said she was conscious of that power, and used it to highlight underrepresented designers who might benefit from the attention. She picked the New York City-based Taiwanese-Canadian designer Jason Wu, for example, to design her two inauguration gowns.

“I did know that my clothes were making a statement,” she said. “So we decided, why don’t we use this platform to uplift some young new designers who normally wouldn’t get this kind of attention? Because you can change their lives.”